Both the Right and the Left of Israel's politics have their feet sinking deeper and deeper into a swamp called the Israeli political system. Instead of draining that swamp and make it prosperous, the politicians are running around trying to catch mosquitoes, and boasting about who caught the biggest one.
Meanwhile, the swamp is growing deeper, and soon we’ll all drown in it. Israel was built on swamps that needed to be drained. Our founders - from the Right and the Left - understood early on that mosquitoes are no prize. I am not one for yearning over "the good old days," but we can certainly learn from them.
The political system which Israel has employed in the past 75 needs to be recalibrated. The way things are at the moment, even when we do form a government, it can barely function. And what the politicians are doing to solve it? Catching mosquitoes to show the electorate they are the ones with the biggest one.
Two changes in legislation could lead to the betterment of the current political system. The first one is increasing the electoral threshold to 10% and brining back the two-party system to help form a Knesset majority with relative ease.
The second change must help balance power between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. At the moment, the Knesset, government and judicial authority are in a constant power struggle, which prevents them from focusing on actually doing their job and making the lives of the Israeli public easier.
Another long-term issue that needs to be addressed is the development of Israel’s periphery. Obsessives investment into Jewish settlements in the West Bank has resulted in neglect of the periphery in the north and south, with young, educated Israelis running away from those areas.
Changes are also required in Israel’s economic sector, and the most important step to take is to lower the number of monopolies on the market. The current situation is outrageous, few companies dictate pricings of basic goods, such as food, housing and more.
There is no country like Israel in the world when it comes to monopolies. The concept of regulation by definition means market power is distributed among as many players as possible to encourage competition for the benefit of the public.
Israel must also minimize the number of municipalities and transfer as many government authorities as possible (construction, education, infrastructure, essential services and more) to fewer municipalities under regulatory supervision
The bottom line is that the relationship between the government and civil society must be changed - from conflict to partnership. The government needs to start admitting to what it cannot do.
Most importantly, we must the change Israel’s cultural narrative, making it more humane and civilized. I believe that the coming November 1 elections will only lead to another round of political turmoil. We, the people, can start changing it, or allow the political uncertainty to continue for eternity.